Today is my mother’s birthday. She passed away many years ago. Had she lived, she would have been 111 today. I learned many things from my mother, I believe, even though she and I had very different lives in very different times.

Establishing a relationship of communication with your child allows you to check in on their daily experiences and feelings, encourage and support them as they learn to interact with the world, demonstrate healthy communication techniques and form an openness with your child that you’ll both be thankful for as you get older.